Museum of London

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020 7001 9844

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All information is drawn from or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

Step inside Museum of London for an unforgettable journey through the capital’s turbulent past.

Venue Type:

Entry is free to all. Groups of 10+ (school, college and adult) must book in advance. Call the Box Office on 020 7001 9844 or e-mail groups@museumoflondon.org.uk.

Discounts

Museums Association

Additional info

Wheelchairs: The Museum has powered and manual wheelchairs, which may be borrowed free of charge for the duration of your visit. Please ask at the admissions desk.

Large print events brochures, map and audio guides: Our events brochure and map of the Museum's galleries is available in large print. Please ask upon arrival or telephone 020 7001 9844. There are also audio tours available. The tour is available free of charge to blind or partially sighted visitors.

Induction loop: The Museum's audio facilities (including audio tours) are suitable for the hard of hearing. Our induction loops can be used by any visitor with a hearing aid fitted with a T switch.

Events: We have a range of events which are suitable for blind or partially sighted visitors. Please ask for an events brochure or call our box office team on 0870 444 3850. They will be pleased to assist you.

Toilets and lifts: There are disabled toilets and access by lift to all levels of the Museum. Please telephone 0870 444 3850 prior to your visit if you would like further details.

The entire collection of the Museum of London is a Designated Collection of national importance.

The museum of London charts the history of the capital and its people from the prehistoric period to the present day. Its galleries and exhibitions make sensitive use of both traditional and modern interactive techniques, and the museum has long been committed to educational and outreach services.

The extensive collections contain highly significant ranges of archaeological material from London, and include the London Archaeological Archive of finds and records from over 25 years of excavations. Social and working history collections, costume and decorative arts, paintings, pictures and photographs illustrate London's development since 1700, and the museum's contemporary collecting policy seeks to reflect the ever-changing pattern of London life in London.

The collections are divided between two departments:

The Department of Archaeological Collections and Archive: Material relating to London from the prehistoric period to c.1700. This includes the Archaeological Archive, housing material from archaeological excavations in London.

The Department of History Collections: Material relating to London from c.1700 to the present day.

Exhibition details are listed below, you may need to scroll down to see them all.

Exhibition (temporary)

Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die

17 October 2014 — 12 April 2015 *on now

This year the Museum of London welcomes an exciting new exhibition, delving into the mind of the world’s most famous fictional detective; Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

Asking searching questions such as who is Sherlock Holmes, and why does he still conjure up such enduring fascination, this major exhibition – London’s first on the detective since 1951 – will explore how Sherlock Holmes has transcended literature onto stage and screen and continues to attract huge audiences to this day.

Going beyond film and fiction, visitors to the museum will be transported to the real Victorian London – the backdrop for many of Conan Doyle’s stories. Through early film, photography, paintings and original artefacts, the exhibition will recreate the atmosphere of Sherlock’s London, with visitors able to envisage the places that the detective visited and imagine they are standing on the pavement of the Strand watching the horse drawn traffic pass by.

Suitable for

Family friendly

Admission

Adult£12 (£10.90 without donation)Concession£10 (£9 without donation)Flexible family tickets£9.50 per person (£8.50 per person without donation)

Website

The London 2012 Cauldron: Designing a Monument

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

Our new home for the London 2012 Cauldron tells the story of this iconic symbol of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The new gallery celebrates Thomas Heatherwick’s cutting edge design and the unforgettable moment it was revealed to the world during the Olympic opening ceremony.

"A ceremony that celebrates the creativity, eccentricity, daring and openness of the British genius by harnessing the genius, creativity, eccentricity, daring and openness of modern London."Danny Boyle, Olympic Opening Ceremony Artistic Director

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The City Gallery

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

Showcasing our most iconic treasure.

The centrepiece of our City Gallery is the magnificent Lord Mayor’s Coach, which is now more than 250 years old. Iconic and beautifully crafted, it was commissioned in 1757 for that year’s Lord Mayor's Show, which it still leaves the Museum every November to participate in.

This spectacular gallery celebrates the City of London itself through displays that showcase this area’s unique character, a place where ancient traditions exist side-by-side with cutting edge architecture.

The lives of City people and the activities associated with this part of the capital can be seen in objects ranging from a coachman’s state uniform and the Sheriff of London’s badge to a Blackberry owned by the Lord Mayor in 2008-9.

Suitable for

Website

World City: 1950s-today

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

After facing poverty and war, London emerged as a rejuvenated, vibrant modern city for the masses.

London became a new kind of world city. A youth and multicultural revolution saw Londoners absorb new values and claim new rights. By the end of the 20th century, the diversity of its people was at the heart of London’s identity.

Homes were transformed by new forms of entertainment, technology and fashion. Television puppets Bill and Ben delighted London’s children in the 1950s, the first Apple Mac computers appeared in Londoners’ homes in the 1980s and fashion in the capital shifted from Biba and Mary Quant in the 1960s to Alexander McQueen and Tatty Devine in the 2000s.

As well as looking back, we face up to London’s future. One enormous image imagines what London will look like in years to come while a flowing interactive river lets you debate the issues affecting London today, from burial space to climate change.

People's City: 1850s-1940s

By the 1850s, London was the world’s wealthiest city but success came at a price. Population growth created a divided city, with Londoners living in separate worlds of rich and poor.

This was a time of conflict when workers united to fight for their rights, imprisoned Suffragettes went on hunger strike and communist and fascist groups emerged as the nation moved closer to war. It was also a time of wealth and glamour.

The social divide is reflected in the galleries. A room wallpapered with Charles Booth’s poverty maps sits alongside a stunning art deco lift from Selfridges, a glamorous symbol of the emerging West End.

As you leave the dazzling lights of the theatres and restaurants, enter a dark and immersive war room decorated starkly with a suspended bomb, showing a blitzed city unsure of its survival.

Suitable for

Website

Expanding City: 1666-1850s

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

Discover a city rebuilding itself after the Great Fire.

This gallery explores London’s rapid growth after 1666. The centrepiece is a 240 year old printing press that spills news stories across the gallery in an innovative collision of new and old technologies.

Admire museum treasures, including Nelson's sword, an original door from Newgate Prison and the extraordinary aerial view of the 1806 Rhinebeck Panorama, as you walk over cases embedded underfoot.

London was the capital of a vast empire and this global influence was seen in the goods that Londoners could buy, from Indian cashmere to fans from China. Similarly, immigrants brought new skills that benefited the business and cultural life of the city. In size and population, wealth and power, there had never been a city like it.

Suitable for

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War, Plague and Fire (1550s-1660s)

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

A turbulent time of great expansion and terrible devastation.

The War, Plague and Fire gallery tells the story of London from Elizabethan times, through the ravages of the English Civil Wars and the cataclysmic disasters of the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666.

Rich displays of artefacts and documents bring to life the key events of this period from the execution of King Charles I to the 100,000 deaths of the Great Plague and the destruction of the Great Fire, which razed a third of the city.

Don't miss: a detailed model of the Rose Theatre where Shakespeare performedOliver Cromwell’s death maska fireman’s helmet from the late 1600s

Suitable for

Website

Medieval London

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

Discover the story of London from the collapse of the Roman city in the 400s to the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558.

During the medieval period the city of London was destroyed by invaders, racked by famine, fire and disease, and torn apart by religious and political controversy. Still it grew to become one of the largest, wealthiest and most important cities in Europe and a place of truly international status.

London's story is illustrated by over 1300 exhibits, which include children's toys, fraudulent dice and a gold crucifix containing what purported to be a fragment of the True Cross. Many items come from recent archaeological digs, where deep waterlogged deposits along the Thames have preserved England's finest surviving collection of medieval leatherwork.

Don't miss: a gold and garnet brooch from the mid 600s, found in a grave in Covent Gardenstunning late 15th century altar paintings believed to have come from a chapel at Westminster Abbeywince-inducing pointed shoes that were the height of fashion in the 1380s

Suitable for

Website

Roman London

1 November 2014 — 1 November 2018 *on now

Discover what life was like in Londinium and see everyday Roman objects from homeware to precious jewellery.

The Romans built the city where London now stands, bridging the Thames and constructing the roads that connected Londinium with the rest of the country. From around AD 50 to 410 – a period as long as that which separates Queen Elizabeth I from our present Queen – this was the largest city in Britannia, a vital port through which goods were imported from all over the world.

Don't miss: a Roman leather bikinimarble sculptures from the Temple of Mithras, among the finest works of art ever found in Roman Britaina rare limestone sarcophagus which contained the remains of a 4th century woman who came to London from the south west of the Roman Empire.

Suitable for

Website

London Before London

Discover the story of the Thames Valley and the people who lived there from 450,000 BC to the coming of the Romans in AD 50.

Our London Before London gallery explores the prehistoric story of the Thames Valley from 450,000 BC to the arrival of the Romans in AD 50.

Beginning when London was a wilderness and the local population would fit on a double-decker bus, London before London explores the relationship between humans and their surroundings.

Don't miss: the impressive skull of an extinct auroch (wild ox) which inhabited London during 245,000-186,000 BCa 6000 year old ceremonial axehead, made from jadeite brought to London from the Western Alpsthe remains of the Shepperton woman, one of the oldest people to have been found in the London region. The skeleton is between 5,640 and 5,100 years old and is displayed alongside a facial reconstruction.

Suitable for

Family friendly

Website

Mind Maze

1 January — 12 April 2015 *on now

The Mind Maze features a family of free standing, moveable structures for the foyer of the museum – representing the enigmatic inner workings of Sherlock’s mind. The beginning of each story is marked by a version of Sherlock’s front doorvisitors are invited to look at, touch and walk around these curious structures and attempt to unravel them.

Each of the structures acts as a puzzle or representation of a particular Sherlock case, with cryptic symbols and motifs found within Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world of Sherlock Holmes. Visitors to the exhibition have the opportunity to absorb themselves within the clues and attempt to decipher the stories.

Suitable for

Website

Events details are listed below. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all. For events that don't have a specific date see the 'Resources' tab above.

Guided tour

Shakespeare's London

4 April 2015 10:30am-12:30pm

11 April 2015 10:30am-12:30pm

18 April 2015 10:30am-12:30pm

25 April 2015 10:30am-12:30pm

See the sights of Shakespeare’s London with a knowledgeable Museum of London guide.

Walk the banks of the Thames, London’s original theatreland, before you traverse the river to the City streets that inspired the Bard's plays, including Henry IV Parts I and II which the Royal Shakespeare Company will transfer to the Barbican this winter. Stop by his Silver Street home and discover picturesque settings you might recognise from film, right in the heart of the historic City of London.

Sherlock Holmes walking tour

Starting at Baker Street, take in the sights and sounds of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Victorian London plus see familiar sights from film and television productions.

Please be aware that the tour uses the underground and is therefore not accessible for wheelchair users. Travel is included in the ticket price. This event takes place whatever the weather. Please dress appropriately.

Suitable for

Website

Sleuthing with Sherlock

2 April 2015 7-10pm

In this immersive event you’ll learn the techniques of Victorian fingerprinting versus modern day methods.

Firstly, you’ll investigate what looks like a bloody murder in a Victorian study. You’ll have to analyse the scene and identify the culprit using nothing but your deductive powers. Once you’ve come to your final conclusion, you can congratulate yourself with a 30 minute break and a drink from the bar before starting your second case.

A modern forensic lab sets the scene this time. There are shot glasses on the table. They look clean, but are they? Use modern forensic techniques to find out and discover the murderer!

Suitable for

Website

Sherlock film night

10 April 2015 7-11:30pm

For die-hard fans, we’ve teamed up with Film Hub London for a dress-up Sherlock film night! With prizes for the most inventive costumes and a late night bar. Screened in our galleries after dark in partnership with The Lost Picture Show.

All Dressed Up

This game is dressing up with a difference. Not only can you create a character, but you can dress them with real clothes from the 20th Century. What will you do? Create a cunning disguise for a 20th Century undercover agent, or simply have fun mixing up all your options. The choice is yours!

Digging up the Romans

Fortunata and the Four Gods

An interactive story for students with special educational needs told as a chant, in call-and-response. The resource includes teachers notes on how to use the story with your class. The mainstoryteller (in this case, the voice on the story’s audio track) calls a line of the story and everyoneresponds by repeating the line back. This style of telling stories was developed as a teaching strategyby Keith Park, a teacher, author and storyteller, as a way of including pupils with severe and profoundlearning disabilities in larger group activities, and make drama and literacy work more accessible.

Digital and online resources

Londinium game

Designed for KS2 students, this game uses Roman objects and information about the shops on a Roman high street to help players learn about life in Roman London. Take a trip through a Londinium high street, identifying the items and returning them to the correct shops.

Digital and online resources

SEN accessible object pages

These accessible object pages aim to help students with learning difficulties interact online with objects in our collection. They use a variety of media to interpret the objects so pupils can explore a 3D object by zooming into it and moving it around. There is a short written caption along with a key-word signing video of this caption with audio. Where possible, an image is also provided to give the object more context.

Digital and online resources

Starting out

A game for KS4 students to help teach financial management. Players imagine they have just left school and are about to start a new life in London. They choose a career path and where they will live then make choices about their lifestyle and how to spend their money.

The Postcodes Project: London's Neighbourhood Stories

The Museum of London holds a wide range of objects from across the city. To highlight some of their fascinating local stories we have selected a single object for each London postcode area. The site can be used in various ways: taking a themed tour, selecting an area on the map, looking for a specific place or using the arrows to move around. You can add to the richness of the site by submitting your own local stories.

Face to face resources

Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC)

The Central London branch of the Young Archaeologists' Club is hosted by Museum of London Archaeology. Join up and take part in various historical and archaeological explorations in and around London. There is also an annual trip to the Thames and regular monthly meetings - 3rd Saturday of the month from 10.30-12.30 at Mortimer Wheeler House in Hackney, home of the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre. The club is suitable for children aged between 8-16 years living in Central London.

How to obtain

To join or to find out more email yac@museumoflondon.org.uk or call 020 7410 2228 and speak to Karen.